Earth-boring apparatus



(No Model.)

J. R. DAVIS.

EARTH BORING APPARATUS.

. Patented Dec. 13,1881.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN R'DAVIS, OF BLOOMFIELD, IOWA.

EARTH-BORING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 250,651, dated December 13, 1881. Application filed May 7, 1881. (No model.)

Toall whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN B. DAVIS, of Bloomfield, in the county of Davis and State of Iowa, have invented an Improved Earth- Boring Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to save time, labor, and expense in prospecting for coal and other valuable deposits in the earth by boring shafts and elevating to the surface particles or sections of the different substrata that may exist at various depths.

It consists in constructing an apparatus that is specially adapted to facilitate the labor required in operating and raising and lowering an anger and its contents, and which has the following novel features, to wit: first, a capstan-drum adapted to regulate the power required to lift a loaded auger from a deep shaft and the speed desired in a shallow shaft or bore; second, a brake adapted to control the movements of the capstan-drum in lowering an empty auger, and also in raising a loaded auger from a bore 5 third, a sweep adapted to operate in combination with a capstan-drum that rotates in reverse ways fourth, a platform having adjustable sections and an automatic shaft holding and supporting device; fifth,the combination ofanti-friction rollers with a derrick and sheave, to facilitate the removal of shaft-sections; sixth, an anger having attachments adapted to cut an annularchannelaround a solid core of earth or mineral substance and to the core. Each one of these distinct features is constructed, combined, and operated advantageously in my complete apparatus, as hereinafter fully set forth.

Figure 1 of my accompanying drawings is a perspective view, showing my apparatus in position as required for practical operation. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section of my platform and automatic shaft-supporting device. Fig.3 is a top view of my drum-brake and capstan-operating device. Fig. 4 is a transverse section of my improved auger and core-lifting device. Fig. 5 is a top view of the pivoted and adjustable covers of my portable platform. Jointly considered, these figures clearly illustrate the construction and operation of my complete invention.

A is the cross-piece and base of my portable capstan-frame. B B are side pieces, of uniform length, framed or otherwise rigidly fixed to the cross-piece A in such a manner that they will extend at right angles therefrom to form an oblong frame that is adapted to be connected with the legs of a derrick.

A is a cross-piece, fixed to the ends of the pieces B in such a manner that its ends will engage the legs of the derrick and its center form a support for a rope-directing pulley.

G O are posts, fixed to the pieces A and B by means of screw-bolts and braces, or in any suitable way. A cross-piece, O fixed to the tops of the posts 0, forms a bearing for the spindle D, that rests and revolves in a step formed in or fixed to the base-piece A.

Nos. 1, 2, and 3 are graduated barrels, that constitute the capstan-drum, that is fixed to the spindle D. Each barrel has an inclined groove, 0, in its periphery, by means of which the rope that extends from the drum to the derrick and the auger-shaft is readily adjusted from one barrel to another, as required, to increase power and speed at pleasure. The rope is secured to the lower drum, No. 3, by means of a staple, or in any suitable way, and is long enough to extend through the grooves e, to be used upon the No. 2 and also the No. 1 drum, whenever desired, without freeing it from its fastening on thelower, N0. 3, drum; or the rope may be secured to the spindle D and passed downward over the drums, and by means of their grooves e prevented from rolling continuously over the corner of one drum when it is designed to transfer and wind it upon another contiguous drum. To raise the auger and shaft repeatedly in the upper portion of a bore, it can be accomplished more speedily by placing and winding the rope on the lowest and largest barrel. As the anger is rotated by means of a hand-lever or a horsepower and descends deeper in the bore, and

the length and weight of the augershaft are increased by adding sections thereto, I adjust the rope upon the graduated barrels of the drum to regulate the power and speed required. For example, if the auger has reached a depth of one hundred and fifty feet, an increased power is then required to lift the loaded auger and its long shaft, and I therefore place the rope on the upper and smallest barrel, No.1, to raise its entire weight in the bore. After elevat-ing and removing a number of sections from the top portion of the auger-shaft, less power is required and greater speed desired to elevate the remaining sections and auger, and I therefore move the rope to the next and larger barrel, No. 2; and subsequently, when still less power is required, I place the rope upon the largest barrel, No. 3, and thus, by means of the graduated drum barrels, the power and speed of the capstan can be advantageously regulated to facilitate the labor required in operating the prospecting-auger.

F is the drum-head, fixed to the upper portion of the spindle D.

G is a sweep, placed loosely upon the top end of the spindle in such a manner that it will rest and revolve upon the cone-shaped hub or center of the drum-head.

G is a bearing fixed on top of the sweep to prevent it from sagging and binding upon the spindle.

H represents a crosshead, fixed to the short arm of the lever and sweep G.

h hare metal straps and curved brake-pieces, hinged to the cross-head in such a manner as to allow them to engage the periphery of the drum-head F. They are connected by means of a lever, h, and links i t, as shown in Fig. 3, and in such a manner that one of the links will perform the function of a fulcrum for the lever, while the other link extends from the short arm of the same lever.

h is a rack or ratchet device fixed to the central portion of the sweep G to engage the lever h. By means of the loose sweep carrying a rack, the brake device, and the fixed drum-head, thus combined with the capstanspindle, the sweep can be readily locked to the spindle as required to rotate the drum, and thereby wind up the rope and elevate the auger and shaft from a bore; and by the same means the friction of the brake upon the drum can be regulated as required to facilitate the unwinding of the rope to lower the auger and shaft in the bore, while the sweep and horse thereto attached remain stationary.

1 is a pointed prop, hinged to the outer portion of the sweep G in such a manner that it will drag upon the ground when the horse moves the sweep forward, and instantly enter the ground to prop the sweep, as required, to prevent any backward movement thereof, and thereby avoid the annoyances and dangers incident to the backlash of a rope.

J represents the frame of a portable platform, that is adapted to be placed over and around the site of a well or bore.

7c are adjustable wooden covers, pivoted at their ends on top of the frame J in such a manner that they will move laterally, and their front and free ends, having projecting handles 70, will extend over the frame.

k" are pins that pass through perforations in the covers 70 and into corresponding holes in the frame J for the purpose of locking the covers fast whenever desired. To prevent the pins from being mislaid or lost, I attach them to short ropes and fasten the ropes to the ground by means of pegs, as shown in Fig. 1. Notches k, formed in the contiguous sides of the covers, allow an anger to pass through between them when they are fixed to the frame.

Hare metal plates hinged at their outer edges on the top sides of the covers 7c, and immediately over the openings 70'. They have small notches l in their contiguous and inner sides, through which the bodies of the augershaft sect-ions can pass up and down at all times without hinderance, but in which their enlarged ends and couplings will be automatically caught and held in their downward movements, as shown in Fig. 2, and as required to support the auger and shaft repeatedly in the bore while sections are being attached or removed from the top of the shaft. Each section of my auger-shaft has an eye, m, as shown in Fig. 2, and a lateral bend, m, at its opposite end,that terminates in a hook, m", that is adapted to readily enter the eye of any other section when placed in a right-angled position therewith. By means of the hinged shaft-holding device 1 l and the enlarged ends and couplings m m m on the shaft-sections the complete shaft and auger is allowed to pass unrestrictedly upward, but prevented from passing downward, and can be suspended at any point desired. By simply turning the hinged plates Z, or one of them, outward, the complete shaft will not be restricted from passing downward in the bore.

n is an anti-frication roller, mounted in suitable bearings attached to the top portion of the derrick in such a manner that when a shaftsection is brought into a horizontal position, as required in coupling and uncoupling, the rope connected therewith and passed over a sheave, 02, located in the top of the derrick, will be thereby prevented from slipping from such a sheave or pulley. A corresponding roller (not shown) is fixed on the opposite side of the rope and derrick.

1 (shown in Figs. 1 and 4 represents the lower portion of the circular frame of my prospecting-auger. It is preferably about four inches in diameter.

s s are narrow cutters, that incline downward and inward from the frame 1', to which they are rigidly fixed by means of screw-bolts, or in any suitable way, in such a manner that they will cut an annular channel in the earth around a solid core in the center of the auger, similar to the way diamond drills have been made and operated to form bores through rocks and other hard substances found in the earth.

8 are fiat, curved, and pointed hooks, that extend horizontally inward from the lower ends of short rods t, that revolve in bearings formed in or fixed to the vertical portion of the auger-frame or auger-arms in such a manner that the sleeve or bucket, which is simply an open-ended tube adapted to slide downward over the top of the frame 1', to rest on a shoulder at the bottom of the frame, as shown in Fig. 1, can readily slide up and down over them and the auger-frame. s are smaller hooks, of corresponding shape, fixed to the same rods t at a higher point. After the auger has cut an annular channel and formed a core in the center of the bore, I turn the anger in a reverse direction, and thereby cause the books 8 and s on the pivoted rods tto revolve inward and enter the core in such a manner that they will retain it in the anger as the auger is elevated; and by thus cutting channels around sections of the earth and lifting them bodily from the bottom of a bore an auger can be operated with less power, and a well or bore made in less time and with less expense, than when the ground is all cut fine in the bottom of the bore.

From the detailed description of the construction and function of each part of my apparatus, as hereinbefore given, its practical and complete operation and utility are obvious.

I am aware that hinged platform covers having notches in their contiguous edges to allow an auger and shaft to pass through have been used, and that clamping devices in the shape of pawls have been hinged to a bisected casing-cap to automatically engage and hold well-tubing at various points of elevation; but my portable platform having pivoted covers that have large openings to allow an anger to pass and hinged plates extending over the said openings in such a manner that they will, in their normal condition, keep the opening in the platform-cover closed, and also act automatically to support the auger and shaft at various points of elevation, to allow sections of shafting to be attached and detached at pleasure at the top of the well, is novel and greatly advantageous, in that it facilitates the labor of raising and lowering the auger and forming a bore or well.

I am also aware that a broad, flat metal bar having a hook at one end and a loop at the other end and a pivoted key in said loop has been used as an auger-shaft section; but my shaft-section, consisting of asquare bar having a simple eye at one end and a hook at the,

other end, and both eye and hook in the vertical plane of the bar, is novel and greatly advantageous,'in that it requires no keying or fastening device, and is more readily coupled and uncoupled to a corresponding section than any other form of shaft-section known.

I am also aware that a curvilinear bit hava hook hinged at its inner or rear end has been detachably connected with the pod or frame of an auger to form a core of earth in the center of the bore, into which core the hinged hook would enter, when the motion of the auger was reversed, and break ofi the core and form a rest therefor to support and carry the core when the auger was elevated but by my manner of combining with a skeleton auger-frame two cutters and four hinged hooks on opposite sides of the frame and at difierent points of elevation a core of earth will be formed and kept in a perpendicular position, so that an open-ended sleeve or bucket can be readily moved up and down on the auger-frame without coming in contact with the cutters,

hooks, core, or the wall of the bore 5 and it is novel and greatly advantageous, in that the auger can be sunk deeper to form a longer core and elevate a larger quantity of earth at one time and with less power than when a core is not kept perpendicular, but inclines and causes friction by coming in contact with the auger and the wall of the bore.

I claim as my invention 1. A capstan-drum composed oftwo or more graduated barrels, each having an inclined notch or groove, 6, in its periphery, substantially as shown and described, for the purposes specified. I

2. The brake device composed of the hinged and curved metal straps h, links 1', and lever h, in combination with a loose sweep, G, and a fixed drum-head, F, on a capstan-spindle, substantially as shown and described, for the purposes'specified.

3. The sweep G, having the bearing G the cross-head H, and the rack h, in combination with the brake device It i It and the drum F on the spindle D, substantially as shown and described, for the purposes specified.

4. The capstan composed of the frame A A B B G 0 U and adapted to be connected with a derrick, the spindle D, the graduated drumbarrels Nos. 1, 2, 3, the drum-head F, the loose sweep G, having an elevated bearing, G a cross-head, H, and a hinged prop, I, and carryinga brake device, h h h z z', substantially as shown and described, to operate in the manner set forth, for the purposes specified.

5. The portable platform and automatic auger-shaft support composed of a frame or base, J, pivoted covers lo 70', and hinged plates ll, substantially as shown and described.

6. The combination of elongated anti-friction rollers n with the top portion of a derrick and a sheave, a, substantially as shown and described, for the purposes specified.

' 7. The improved earth-auger composed of a circular skeleton-frame, two narrow pods or cutters, s, a core-l'rfting device, it s s, and an open-ended cylindrical and detachable bucket, substantially as shown and described, for the purposes specified.

8. The improved well making apparatus composed of the following operative devices, to wit: the capstan consisting of aframe, A A B B O O 0 a spindle, D, graduated drumbarrels Nos. 1, 2, 3, a drum-head, F, a loose sweep, G, having an elevated bearing, G a cross-head, H, a hinged prop, I, a brake device, h h h" M, a platform and automatic shaft-sup porting device, J 70 k k l l, a series of shaftsections having eyes m at one end and lateral bends m and hooks m at their opposite ends, a derrick having elongated anti-friction rollers a at its top, and an anger having narrow pods or cutters s, and acore-lifting device, if s s, substantially as shown and described JOHN ROLPH DAVIS.

Witnesses:

HUGH HAYES, J. B. WELGH.

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